Do you actually use your 3-Wood?

[808nation 1,788]

Cobra F9 3wd is a winner.  Love it off the deck and love it when my driver is day dreaming of other things.

[Shankdog 57]

I carry the Cobra F-max 3 wood and love it.  It has a 16 degree loft, which I’m sure some of you would consider more of a 4 wood, but hey, years ago my pitching wedge would have been called a 9 iron.  It’s easy to hit and get up in the air.  I wonder if some that have posted here would like their 3 wood better if they had a more lofted model that is easier to hit.

I often use it for my second shots on par 5’s if I have a good lie.  I generally don’t use it off the tee.  
 

Good golf, all!

[TBT 3,888]

I don’t even hit mine off the deck but I play it quite a bit off the tee

[Dog Faced Pony Soldier 32]

On 5/9/2021 at 4:23 PM, Murray06 said:

I think it depends on the course you play on a regular basis. The 2 I play have plenty of holes where hitting 3 wood off the tee is the better option, but also has 2 long par 5’s. For me it’s an important club as I always like a backup when driver is feeling off too. 

I agree. I’ve always bagged a 5w instead of a 3w, but have been considering picking up a 3w to swap in for some courses/conditions. 

Edited May 17, 2021 by Dog Faced Pony Soldier

[cjeffs12 879]

I use my 3 wood primarily off the tee, but if I have a wide open long par 5 I’ll hit off the deck. My SIM Max, is a beast off the tee, not as long as my driver, but I can still get it out there with most people’s driver. I have thought about switching it out for a strong hybrid, or a 4 wood, but I don’t have a lot of those yardages going into greens, so I stay with it just because it is so good off the tee. My buddy hates when I pull it out on the tee because it’s so lethal. 

[Tyler86 417]

On 5/14/2021 at 3:16 PM, bogeymonsters said:

First time getting a club fitting and decided to go to two different fitters to see how the results would match up. In my first fitting I was told not to use a 3W and they fit me with a G425 5W. The fitter said the shorter shaft and additional loft will be easier to hit consistently and gain similar yardage to a 3W. In the second fitting, they told me not to go with a 5W and fit me for a G425 3W with a half inch cut off the shaft. I guess G425 is the right model, but I'm confused on whether I should go with the 3W or 5W - thoughts?

I personally prefer a 5w. Mid handicapper. My miss hits are far better with a 5w than a 3w. When im in a groove i can still carry 250, almost driver distance for me. The few 3w ive gamed “ok” dont hold greens as well as my 5w when im lucky enough to hit them.  

[MacMan 18]

On 5/25/2020 at 1:02 PM, Hoyoymac said:

Was only using it 2 or 3 times a round max.  No confidence because I couldn’t get a 3 wood in the air from the fairway.  Had a 4 or 5 wood for awhile, not much better.  Just added a 7 wood with 21 deg.of loft.  I finally found what I needed.  Loft is my friend.  I de loft everything with a good amount of forward shaft lean.  As a result my ball flight is on the low side. I tend to swing from the inside out, wrap the club face around the ball and hit a draw.  I combined a high launching Stiff shaft to the 7 wood and am having my Eureka! moment.

Had a similar experience, found my Srixon #3 15° was great off a tee but struggled off fairways, went to a PXG 0211 #7 at 21° much better off the deck and almost as long as the #3 Wood off a tee. the #7 Wood knocked out the #3 Wood and 3 Hybrid!

Srixon Z-Star will stay, just for those bad driving days!

[Paul Hedrick 437]

I hardly ever use my 3 wood.  Seriously considering just removing it from my bag.  I have much better results from my 5 wood.

[NRJyzr 1,241]

A couple strange things in 2021....

Perhaps in part due to my decreasing length, I'm finding more use for a 3w in my bag, on the par 5 holes at my course (still largely using a 2h or 2 iron as alternate tee club). 

And stranger, considering my decreasing swingspeed, I've been having success using a 3w at 13* off the deck.  Both my King LTD and Stage 2 Tour worked pretty well for me, turned down to 13* or so.  Even trotted out my 12* TEE E8 Beta (13* actual loft) at the end of the year, with good results.

Golf is a funny game.  
 

[JalanK 42]

I've payed the last 2 years without one. I bought one last week. 1 dome session showed me I have work to do if I want hit it well. The good news is: I have all winter to work on it.

Given my driver distance there are too many longer par 4s where I can't get home in two with the 5 wood. So, just another adventure in the continuing saga of my golf game.

 

[cnosil 25,175]

2 minutes ago, JalanK said:

Given my driver distance there are too many longer par 4s where I can't get home in two with the 5 wood. So, just another adventure in the continuing saga of my golf game.

 

IMO, If you are playing par 4s that require Driver then 3W to reach you are most likely playing the wrong tees.   While you can practice 3 wood,  it probably won't benefit you significantly and you might be better off working on speed to increase driver distance. 

[chisag 18,547]

7 hours ago, cnosil said:

IMO, If you are playing par 4s that require Driver then 3W to reach you are most likely playing the wrong tees.   While you can practice 3 wood,  it probably won't benefit you significantly and you might be better off working on speed to increase driver distance. 

 

... Great points. I think many may benefit from just moving up a tee box on long par 4's. The course I played over the summer has a 460 yd par 4 and moving up a tee box it is "only" 445. Hitting a 250yd drive leaves me 210 from the silver tees but only 195 from the white tees. That is the difference between an iron and a hybrid or 5 wood depending on the wind. After playing there for a couple months, there are a few others tees that moving up meant a more enjoyable round. Driver short iron on almost every hole isn't much of a challenge either.  It is always a compromise between playing a course that allows me to use all the clubs in my bag or just being too long or too short, so making my own score card is something I do more often than not.  

[JalanK 42]

3 hours ago, cnosil said:

IMO, If you are playing par 4s that require Driver then 3W to reach you are most likely playing the wrong tees.   While you can practice 3 wood,  it probably won't benefit you significantly and you might be better off working on speed to increase driver distance. 

I play the tees recommended for my driver distance. However on a couple courses, there are holes which are just shy of par 5 designation, leaving me a long 2nd shot, which I cannot reach in two with a 5 wood. I also bought it to use for 2nd shots on par 5s - I should have been clearer about that. I'm going to devote this winter off season to SuperSpeed Golf, as well as ramping up  my workouts. As I age, I just turned 70, I hope to at least maintain my distance, and ideally increase it.

[JalanK 42]

3 hours ago, chisag said:

 

... Great points. I think many may benefit from just moving up a tee box on long oar 4's. The course I played over the summer has a 460 yd par 4 and moving up a tee box out is "only" 445. Hitting a 250yd drive leaves me 210 from the silver tees but only 195 from the white tees. That is the difference between an iron and a hybrid or 5 wood depending on the wind. After playing to for a couple months, there are a few others tees that moving up meant a more enjoyable round. Driver short iron on almost every hole isn't much of a challenge either.  It is always a compromise between playing a course that allows me to use all the clubs in my bag or just being too long or too short, so making my own score card is something I do more often than not.  

While you may not be suggesting this: If the overall length is within my range, I'm not going to play a different tee on a longer hole just to reach the green in reg, unless the course has mixed tees that have a given slope and rating. It's tough when there is  about a 500 yard difference between two sets of tees, while the slope difference is not that significant. I'll take my lumps on the longer tees rather than shorten the course to the extent it's a pitch and putt on too many holes. I don't hold people up when I play so, that's not a concern or reason for choosing the shorter tees.

[CrazyGolfNut 26]

I use my 3 wood on short par 4's and for chipping out from under trees.

[Shottmaker 2]

As a senior golfer I use it a lot - gets me to wedge range

[ElmMan 12]

I have not been able to hit my 3W consistently off of the fairway for several years, so I dumped it. Hitting it off of the tee once or twice a round was not enough to keep it in my bag. My 5w is more versatile in that I can hit it off of the fairway and almost as far as a 3W off of the tee. In place of the 3W, I added a "heavenwood" that is 7W loft with a longer shaft. I LOVE that club. It is incredibly consistent for me. I can hit it from almost any lie and know that it will be straight and long (for me). Please note that I am not a long hitter. My drive is only 200-220. I can hit the 5 about 200 or a little more with roll from the fairway. HW goes about 190. The two higher lofts are much better for my swing speed.

[Richard Fahrney 6]

I use it but it is one of my frequently mis hit clubs. 

[ForeRightAgain 38]

Had a Cleveland 3W for years that was just taking up space in my bag.  Bought a new Titleist 3W this year and loved it when I first got it, fell out of love in the middle of the year, then back in love these last few rounds.  It's kind of like my Driver in the love department 

[actusreus 0]

From golf.com just 6 days ago: https://golf.com/instruction/1-club-amateur-golfers-should-replace/   They recommended replacing the 3 wood with a hybrid for anyone with a double digit handicap unless the wood is used as a driver replacement.  Long before the article, I had taken all woods but my driver out of my bag.  I get the same distance with my 3 hybrid I got from my 3 wood, I am more accurate, and hybrids are more versatile, for example, better from the rough than a wood.  No plan to go back to the woods.